Talk to the wombat cos the kitesurfer ain’t listening... The end

by Emilie Marx
(Part 3/3)

My kite got repaired overnight and I was back on the water with my little friend the next morning – like if nothing had happened.
Did someone say there was a problem? Where?

Funnily, when I posted on facebook that my –male- friend had done the sewing job, it generated all sorts of sceptical comments (it reinsured me in a way though: misogynist prejudices aren’t solely towards women!).
People were convinced the repair would rip on the first launch. Facts are that it handled the first launch, the next one, light wind, strong wind, gusty wind, kiteloops and waves, it’s been put through all the tests since and it’s still holding (Thanks again mate! ;) ).
I used to say I wanted a man who knew how to fix a car – as I tend to have a fair bunch of wombat moments with those too…..
Now I think I want a man who knows how to use a sewing machine, ideally both…

I actually like my kite much better now it’s got scars – I’m one of those freaks who like scars, they tell a story.
It gives it personality!

A new kite is identical to any other new kite but for its serial number - oh, sorry. I forgot all about the oh so important canopy colour…
A damaged kite becomes unique.
Now it’s not just a blue kite any more. It’s the blue kite that I trashed, that got hospitalised and that survived. It now shows off some very unique characteristics.
Now I can say it’s mine…

After my great musical wipe out last month, I thought that the lesson to be learnt was “Stop crashing your kite in big waves”, I now stand corrected.
The lesson to be learnt should have been “Stop crashing your kite in waves – period!”

Yeah, but I’m one of those who believe that if your kite always stays dry, it means you’re not pushing it enough….
Crashing a kite is part of the improving process – no pain no gain!
Unless I am looking for excuses there, what happened that day had nothing to do with crashing the kite, accessorily in waves – it rather had to do with me being fully aware of what I’m meant to do, and just not doing it.
“Do as I say, not as I do…”

I’ve been looking at the worn end of my (improvised) 5th line for days now, thinking “man, I really must replace it before it gives in – it is clearly saying “I will break next time you open your safety….”
It’s been nearly a month now that I’ve been thinking this each time I rig (needless to say I haven’t had to use my safety for the past few weeks).
I know I would have told my students not to fly with a fifth line this worn….
Makes me look a bit like the wombat sitting in front of the car in the middle of the road, looking the opposite way doesn’t it….

It’s been so stupidly windy for weeks now that I’ve had no time to do anything (including popping by a shop to buy some lines…)
Which makes me think, I hope there isn’t a wind ratio allocated yearly or we’ve already used all of 2010’s…

My dog made me notice recently that he couldn’t walk in the apartment any more (my place is a good windmetre: the mess is proportional to the wind) and I happened to hit my foot real hard with my fin during a wipe out while surfing yesterday, so the situation comes down to this: my dog can’t walk into my place and I can’t walk full stop -let alone kite….
We might go for a drive and try to take care of things that need to be taken care of then.

Yeah, because if my fifth line breaks – again-, my kite will get trashed – again-, and it’s no fun to tell the same story two months in a row…

Wow. How great would this be if my kitesurfing blog turned out to be the remedy to my wombat tendencies?
Now that would be admirable, seriously, have you ever tried to talk some sense to a wombat?


Story and pictures by Emilie Marx
January 2009


PS: I did go to the shop the day I finished writing this story, about a week ago. I bought thirty meters of dyneema. Enough to fix two broken fifth lines!
I could nearly have been proud of myself…
– If only the new line had moved from my car’s seat since….

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